Automated beverage production machines which are designed to use portioned ingredients are already known. Often such machines use packages (e.g. capsules, cartridges, pods) containing a predetermined dose of beverage ingredient (e.g. ground coffee, cocoa powder, tea leaves). Such packages are convenient to use and can facilitate the preparation of beverages that are consistent in terms of taste and quality.
The working parameters of beverage production machines may need to be varied according to the type of beverage being prepared. This can be achieved by associating a particular type of package with a set of machine parameters. Several systems for recognising packages have been proposed.
European patent application EP 0 451 980 (Kraft General Foods Limited) relates to packages containing comestibles for the preparation of beverages, which are preferably provided with a recognition means. Several possible systems are postulated, each comprising a particular recognition means and appropriate sensor. For example, the recognition means may comprise one or more surface features formed in the body of the package which can be identified by a mechanical sensor or an optical sensor; one or more strips of a magnetic material applied to the body of the package which can be read by an appropriate magnetic sensor; one or more shaped or divided areas of metal foil applied to the package body which cause an inductive effect on movement of the package in the machine, which inductive effect can be sensed; or one or more electrically conductive areas formed on the body of the package which can be sensed electronically.
International patent application WO 2011/141532 (Nestec S.A.) describes a capsule, system and method for preparing a beverage by centrifugation. The capsule comprises a code arranged to be read while the capsule is rotated around an axis of rotation traversing the capsule. Optical reading of a code that has been applied on the capsule by printing, embossing or laser engraving is preferred. Inductive sensing of a code formed by reliefs or recesses provided on a circumferential metal rim of the capsule is also disclosed.
International patent application WO 2012/010317 (Krüger GmbH & Co. KG) concerns beverage capsules that can only be used in one particular automatic coffee machine. The capsules have an identifying mark which is scanned by the coffee machine; several possible embodiments of identifying mark are suggested. For example, the identifying mark may comprise: regions with differing optical reflection characteristics, an indentation and/or a protrusion, a printed item such as a barcode, a fluorescent region, an electrically conducting region, a metallic region, a ferromagnetic region, or a radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip.
A problem with identifying a package in a beverage production machine is that retrieving or reading information from the package is not always reliable or convenient. For example, it is often necessary to use a coding system with a high level of redundancy in order to ensure that the package can be read while it is moving and/or in situations wherein the environment around the package is not clean (e.g. due to the presence of residual beverage ingredient). Furthermore, in order for a package to be correctly identified, it is often necessary for the package to be aligned or positioned within the beverage production machine in a precise manner. It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages.